After selling merchandise from home for a half-dozen years, friends Kim Arras and Beverly Rutherford took the leap to opening a storefront.
The duo are building a business partnership out of their home décor store Barn Sour Rustics.
Rutherford opened the first Barn Sour Rustics in Chino Valley, Ariz., a couple of years ago. The second Barn Sour Rustics store opened in Ramona in February.
Rutherford said both locations are rural and rustic, so it was fitting they named their stores after a “barn sour” horse — one that wants to come back to the barn during a ride.
“We’re hoping that our customers will want to keep coming back to our store,” she said.
The eclectic store, at 780 Main St., sells mostly household items and furniture along with candles, flowers, jewelry, flowers and T-shirts.
“Everything in the store is for sale, even the displays like armoires,” Arras said. “The goal is to always have the merchandise changing. And we have a price range for everybody starting at $2.50 on up. It’s definitely affordable.”
Shoppers may recognize some of the items on the shelves as former Hallmark products that Arras and Rutherford scooped up at a discount after the Ramona gift shop went out of business in February.
“We have a lot of Hallmark’s shelving units, wrapping paper and cards,” Arras said.
One-of-a-kind items are mixed in, including handmade jewelry, wood cutting boards and paintings, many of which are created by friends.
“Everything is constantly changing,” Arras said. “If you see something you like one day it’s not guaranteed to be there the next day.”
Sections of the store are arranged for children, men’s gear and grandparents, and one area is dedicated to Tastefully Simple packaged foods. The independent contractor offers beer bread, pound cake, cookies and dips.
Samples of these treats will be given out at the store during Taste of Ramona on May 20. The Ramona Chamber of Commerce-sponsored self-guided tour of restaurants, coffee shops and pubs will coincide with Ramona Barn Sour Rustics’ official grand opening.
To mark the occasion, the store will offer a 20 percent discount on merchandise to shoppers who bring a friend to the store that weekend, Thursday through Sunday.
Arras and Rutherford, friends for 15 years, got acquainted while living in San Diego Country Estates. Arras was selling a variety of items from her home at Christmastime. At one point she had over 20 vendors at her house selling jewelry, purses, shoes and other items. Rutherford often helped out during the holiday boutiques.
In 2015 Rutherford moved to Arizona to be closer to her husband, Kirk’s, property management and maintenance business. The two friends kept in touch when Rutherford would come back to Ramona to celebrate Fourth of July with her church and for San Diego Country Estates parades.
After a divorce Arras quit the home boutique business for 10 years but started it up again last year.
“This was the first time Kim had a holiday boutique since 2011, so I came back to town to help her,” said Rutherford. “She found out I had a boutique. She said it was always her dream to open a boutique so we partnered up and decided to go for it.”
On a whim, the friends thought it would be fun to open a second store in Ramona, with Arras managing it and Rutherford paying the rent.
“We’re starting to join the Ramona Chamber of Commerce and getting situated, but we’re fully up and running,” said Arras, whose style of choosing merchandise complements Rutherford’s.
When Arras isn’t working at the shop, she spends a lot of her time teaching water aerobics and swimming for her other business, Ramona Water Aerobics, which she’s been doing for 21 years. She’s busiest in the pool during May through October, she said. Until the end of April she’ll schedule her classes at San Vicente Resort and in May move to the pool at Ramona Oaks Park.
“I’m not as busy in the winter so the store will give me something to do during the off-season,” said Arras, who has three children Jake, 15; Amber, 21: and Julia, 25. “My on-season will be crazy busy but my off-season will be chill.”
Current store hours are 4:30 to 7 p.m. Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays. For more information, call Arras at 760-533-1531.
Source: sandiegouniontribune.com